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TMI Blog1999 (10) TMI 739X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India. They further prayed for a writ of mandamus or a writ in the like nature directing the respondents to consider the case of the students who are residing in the limits of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and who have passed the qualifying examination from the school(s) situated within the limits of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Area (hereinafter referred to as AUDA ) for admission in the Medical College referred to above as local students. The cause for filing the said writ petition was that Rules 6 and 7 of the said rules prevented the students who are residents of Ahmedabad city but who had acquired their qualification for admission from the educational institutions situated wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... SC Examination and the qualifying examination from the institutions within the local limits of Ahmedabad has no reasonable nexus with the object sought to be achieved by the admission rules for selecting the best candidates for admission to the Medical College. Such a classification on the basis of attending the school or college within and outside the corporation limits is not a reasonable classification in the context of admission to the Medical College. It further held that the classification is not on the basis of residence nor in respect of students of a particular university, therefore, distinguishing the judgments of this Court in Sanjay Ahlawat v. Maharishi Dayanand University ( 1995 (2) SCC 762 ) and Jagadish Saran (Dr) v. Union of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aining to admissions to undergraduate courses in educational institutions is concerned, it is now well settled in view of a large number of judgments of this Court in D. P. Joshi v. State of M.B. 1955 AIR(SC) 334 : 1955 (1) SCR 1215), D. N. Chanchala v. State of Mysore ( 1971 (2) SCC 293 : 1971 Supp SCR 608, Jagadish Saran ( 1980 (2) SCC 768 ) and Dr. Pradeep Jain ( 1984 (3) SCC 654 : 1984 (3) SCR 942) wherein it is held that so far as undergraduate courses are concerned, the reservations based on domicile, university or institution are permissible provided the said reservations are not wholesale 9. With regard to postgraduate and superspecialities, this Court has prohibited any reservation whatsoever as in the cases of State of Rajastha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... In our opinion, the answer should be in the negative. In the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the Ahmedabad Municipality in the writ petition, it is stated that the Medical College in question was established to cater to the needs of the students of Ahmedabad city. If that be the object, in our opinion, the same would be defeated by restricting the definition of local student to those students who have acquired their qualification from institutions situated within the Ahmedabad municipal area, because as has happened in this case, the actual resident students of the Municipality whose parents would have contributed towards the revenue of the Ahmedabad Municipality who for reasons beyond their control or otherwise, had acquired their q ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to be an original resident of Ahmedabad studying anywhere in the State of Gujarat or outside can claim the benefit of a local student because that case does not fall within the classification discussed by us hereinabove 12. Therefore, we are of the opinion that the High Court was justified in coming to the conclusion that the classification made under Rule 7 of the impugned rules amounts to an arbitrary classification, hence, cannot be sustained in law 13. Though the High Court was right in coming to the conclusion that the rule in question does suffer from an element of arbitrariness, we are of the opinion that the remedy does not lie in striking down the impugned rules the existence of which is necessary in the larger interest of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rt, we would be only causing considerable damage to the cause for which the Municipality had enacted this rule. We, therefore, think it appropriate to rely upon the famous and oft-quoted principle relied on by Lord Denning in the case of Seaford Court Estates Ltd. v. Asher ( [1949] 2 K.B. 481 (CA)) wherein he held [W]hen a defect appears a Judge cannot simply fold his hands and blame the draftsman. He must set to work on the constructive task of finding the intention of Parliament, ... and then he must supplement the written word so as to give 'force and life' to the intention of the legislature. ... A Judge should ask himself the question how, if the makers of the Act had themselves come across this ruck in the texture of it, they ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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